The government has said it remains committed to fast-tracking rape cases following reports that a manifesto pledge of specialist rape courts in every Crown court has effectively been put on ice.
Specialist rape courts have long been part of Labour’s answer to tackle the Crown court backlog and reduce the amount of time rape cases take to reach court.
Labour pledged at its 2022 party conference to introduce specialist rape courts in every Crown court. Then shadow justice secretary Steve Reed told several fringe events that his office had been contacted by the family of a young rape complainant who waited two years for her case to come to court – but four days before the trial was due to begin, it was postponed for nine months.
According to the Observer newspaper this weekend, the government appears to have stalled on this particular manifesto commitment, after being told by Whitehall sources that ministers are now ‘carefully considering’ how to move forward, with any decisions waiting until after the Leveson review on criminal courts reports back this spring.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told the Gazette the government was committed to halving violence against women and girls and ‘we are carefully considering how to fast-track rape cases through the system as part of this work’.
In further guidance, the ministry said the government remains committed to fast-tracking rape cases but is carefully considering the best way to implement this, including assessing impacts on other offence types, the outstanding caseload and capacity of the legal workforce. The department is also keen to build on initiatives the senior judiciary is taking forward to expedite rape cases.
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